Friday, January 25, 2008

Dura-Vent's Move A Boost For Vacaville

Simpson Dura-Vent, a chimney and venting products manufacturer headquartered in Vacaville, and a subsidiary of Pleasanton-based Simpson Manufacturing Co., announced Thursday that it will be closing its manufacturing plant in Visksburg, Miss., and consolidating its manufacturing operations into its Vacaville location.

The change will take place during the next 12 to 18 months and the company will hire an additional 100 to 150 workers at the Vacaville location during that time. The facility currently employs about 300 people.

"Business is down, and we have excess facility space and excess overhead, so it was a cost reduction," said Steve Eberhard, president and CEO.

"We believe we can improve manufacturing efficiencies if we're in one location, so overall, we think we will be more competitive," he added.

Simpson Dura-Vent recently added 38,000 square feet to its Vacaville facilities, and moved into the expanded space in September. The addition allows the company to consolidate its manufacturing to one location.

According to its most recent quarterly report, sales at Simpson Dura-Vent decreased by 17.3 percent in the third quarter of 2007. The decline was sharpest in the Southeast and in California. With the exception of Direct-Vent, sales of all of Simpson Dura-Vent's product lines decreased as a result of several factors, including the decline in new home construction.

This followed disappointing sales figures in the second quarter of 2007, when sales for the company declined by 36.7 percent.

"Our outlook for recovery on the housing market is two to three years, so we're making these adjustments," Eberhard said.